Idle Talk
by IndigoHyacinth
Summary: Cloud and Hercules, after the fiasco with Cerberus at the Coliseum. Two men come to terms.


A/N:

After a long, painful dry spell in my writing, I have finally cobbled something together I actually /like/, to some extent. This was just something I did for fun, exploring possible relationships between Disney and Final Fantasy characters----because Kingdom Hearts really did seem to emphasize the former rather than the latter aspects anyway.

There are several references to the Hercules movie (this is what happens when I suffer sever writer's block for several months on end and go on a Disney movie watching spree). Initially, I had toyed with the idea of a shounen-ai, but I'm not so great at writing romance for the sake of romance and I'm not sure if the pairing managed to gain any reality in this one-shot. (Herc/Cloud, to be blatantly clear----blame it on Dragonmaster Dyne's fanfic for first instilling the idea in my head sometime last year....) I may consider expanding on that idea in later writing however.

Flames will be ignored. You have been warned.

-XXX-

The sunlight streamed golden through the open windows of the room in the Coliseum, bouncing off the particles of dust that swam through the columns of light and off the sand-colored stone of the walls and supporting pillars. In the evenings this was one of the dining areas, competitors and spectators of the tournament milling around the full tables and beneath torches set in the iron brackets. It was still only midmorning however, and Hercules had ducked in through the door and shut it swiftly behind him, praying desperately as the stampede of squealing fangirls rushed through the wide halls on the other side. Fangirls had been the unforeseen side result of Herc's quest for immortality and Mount Olympus and in all honesty it was----well, it was annoying. Almost as annoying as all the rest of that publicity had gotten, but it wasn't as if he could do anything about that now. As Phil had pointed out, he was presently viewed as practically a celebrity and one of the most eligible bachelors in Greece. "It's not my fault you can't seem to find anyone of interest."

Phil and women. Herc sighed heavily, running his hands through his hair, and looked up. The room was mostly empty except for the lone occupant on the far side. A blonde man dressed in red and brown and an entire armory of accessories sat at one of the wooden tables sharpening an enormous sword. The sound of stone scraping against metal echoed through the room, stopping only when the blonde looked up to ascertain the identity of the newcomer. Both pairs of blue eyes met across the room, locking. The blonde's expression was cool at first and Herc could see recognition flicker in them, then a twinge of embarrassment. The leathery wing on the blonde's back twitched slightly, stirring the dust in the air in little swirls.

"Um---hi," Herc greeted, an attempt to break the ice that skittered limply through the space between them. "Cloud Strife, right?"

A pause. Then Cloud nodded, his right hand still poised with the whetting stone over the blade of his sword.

"Umm--you fight pretty well. I've seen you, in the arena. I'm Hercules," he added, tacked on in a loss of anything else to say.

A faint smirk slipped across the other man's lips, only partially hidden by his cloak. "Anyone here who knows anything is aware of who you are," Cloud pointed out. "Besides, after what happened yesterday, I don't think I'm going to be forgetting you in a hurry, even if I wanted to."

Herc's amiable smile turned a little sheepish. "Heh---yeah, well."

The halls had turned quiet behind the door, but Hercules hadn't been thinking of making a dash for it quite yet. When the silence had begun to stretch between them, Cloud finally put his sword up against the wall, stuffing his whetting stone into his bag. He looked back up at Herc and after a moment the other man accepted the unspoken invitation, walking across the room to join the blonde at the table.

"It's not like it was your fault, you know," Herc said, sitting down. "Cerberus coming out of nowhere like that---it was a complete accident."

Cloud looked at him with patent disbelief.

"That wasn't---well, yes, partially, but---don't you _know_?" he finally demanded in exasperation. "I was hired to _kill _you." There was a special emphasis on the infinitive, as if Herc had been too thick to note the obvious.

Herc winced, seeing that Cloud obviously preferred not to mince his words. "I know. I just thought----I saw you talking with Sora and his friends yesterday, before they left and---honestly, I don't think you're all that bad of a person. You know, despite the get-up and the contract and whatever."

"Hmmm," said Cloud noncommittally. He eyed Herc like he was some kind of crazy, and the latter laughed, surprising the both of them.

"Label me naive, or something---I guess it doesn't bother me so much any more, people giving me weird looks or whatever they think about me-----although when I was a kid, it usually was because I was such a dorky klutz, knocking over buildings and things when I wasn't really careful about myself."

Cloud took a moment to digest this.

"Knocking over buildings," he echoed.

Herc looked a little embarrassed at the recollections. "Yeah---I'm better about it now, though. Mostly."

"Mostly." This time repeated in what could have been read as amusement. Herc's embarrassment would have deepened even further at this point, except Cloud was smiling now in a nearly friendly sort of way, which oddly, was a relief. Took the edge off of remembering those graceless teenage years, even if Cloud seemed to be snickering into his red collar at the same time at Herc's expense.

"I was pretty awkward too, growing up," Cloud said, unexpectedly, leaning back against the table. "Yuffie still makes---made fun of me for that, especially from the stories the others told her."

"Yuffie?" Herc asked.

"This girl I know, in another world where we lived with a few others. I left, about a year ago." Cloud's eyes became veiled, as if in sad thoughts or memories. It seemed a little personal now, but nonetheless Herc found himself asking, cautiously, "Didn't you ever go back?"

Cloud was quiet for a long moment before answering, carefully choosing his words, "I told myself I wouldn't----I haven't found my light yet. Although," he continued, his eyes glittering sharply, "I hope I am getting closer."

Something twanged sympathetic as Herc watched the other man, sad and searching. "I'm sure you'll find it," Herc said softly.

At these words Cloud glanced over at the other man from the corner of his blue eyes, indecipherable. "Thank you." He stood up from the bench, picking up his sword and his bag. His wing and cloak swished at his back in the movement and he hesitated before leaving.

"Thanks for----it was nice talking to you," he said at last.

Herc nodded. "Same here. And...I'll be around. Maybe sometime---I wouldn't mind facing you in the arena."

"Sometime." Cloud smiled very slightly, ducking his head, his chocobo-yellow hair swaying around his face. "I look forward to it."


End file.
